Nowhere Man
by Warrior Goddess of Insanity
Summary: “It would be a perfect day if he were here.” An AU twist to the classic Taito lovestory. {A bit of angst, a bit of amnesia, and a bit of fluff} {NEW: Chapter 3 added 9-17-04}
1. Yesterday

Hi everyone *waves* I haven't posted anything new in a while, have I. Gomen-nasai. This is definitely not going to be a one shot thing. I already I have the next two chapters written, but I don't know if I'll post 'em. I'm going away for a week so I'll probably finish another chapter during that time. So please read and review!!!

****

Disclaimer: Guess what!! I own 2 shares of Bandai!!! I partially own Digimon!!! Isn't that great!!!!!!!

Flashbacks are in _italics_ between to short lines of ~~~~~~~~. Now onto the story! ^^

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

****

Yesterday

by Nakago

The church was quite large from the outside, one of those old gothic architecture marvels. Even though it had been built less than a century ago it still conveyed a sense of great age and mysticism. The room was dimly lit by a large collection of electric candles. The pews glistened in the artificial lighting giving off the image that they were glowing. The high vaulted ceiling gave the place an air of great space though it was quite small. Though the room was meant to hold a couple hundred people, it was only occupied by the Head priest and his unofficially helper.

The helper was a boy of medium height, about 5'8", of slight build and pale skin. His light blonde hair, and pale skin worked in accordance with his white clothing to give him a washed out and faded look. He stood out starkly against the black concert piano he sat behind. He lightly stroked the keys with his hand, mind obviously elsewhere. Slowly he awakened to the world around him and began to gather up his music.

"Yamato," the old priest called to him as he stood up from the piano to leave, "Will you help me clean up?" 

Yama smiled, happy to be of service, and grabbed a broom from the closet behind the altar. He began to sweep up the dirt and mud that had been brought in. Sweeping isn't very hard work, it's actually very soothing once you've got the right rhythm; his mind began to drift. 

~~~~~~~~~

__

The music beat and the lights pulsed in the main room of the nightclub. Teen body's swayed to the energetic beat raising their energy in a frantic hurricane of power. In the midst of this tempest one lithe boy leaned against a wall; the eye of the storm. 

"Hey Yamato," From out of the tangle of bodies walked a girl in a 'I'm obsessed with leather outfit.' A miniskirt slid farther up her ass as her hips swayed in a seductive walk. A short leather crop top and thigh high leather boots with 5 inch heels completed the outfit. She reached his side and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Can I borrow some money from you?" 

Yamato, thumps hooked in his front pocket, narrowed his eyes suspiciously, "What for?" 

"Just to buy some weed, it's cheaper than what the other guy sells it at," she whispered in his ear, licking the edge as she did so. One hand trailed down his chest to his stomach, fingers slipping underneath her shirt to caress his washboard stomach. She gave him an inviting smile as she scratched her fingers over his bare skin leaving behind four thin red welts.

He shook his head once, declining her invitation. "Fine. Back pocket, but you better pay me back." 

She slid her hand out of his shirt and snaked her hand in his pocket, caressing his ass as she did so, she pulled out two twenties, "Thanks." She gave him a very passionate kiss on, and in, his mouth before fading back into the masses. 

~~~~~~~~~

The priest collected his papers together and catalogued them in a stand beside the podium "That was some beautiful music you played at the funeral," the priest said climbing off the altar and heading toward the first row of seating. He produced a dusting cloth with a flourish and proceeded to polish the seats to a high shine. "My pianist is busy this weekend," he dusted the pew a bit more before moving on to the next bench. " Would you be willing to play for my Sunday sermon?" He lifted his head and peered at Yamato through the gloom.

Yamato nodded, scratching at the floor with his broom, thoughts still partially lost in the past. 

"That's great, could you try to get here a half an hour early so that I can give you the music?" 

Yamato nodded once again, as the past caught him. 

~~~~~~~~~

__

It was almost pitch black in the alley, the buildings on either side blocked out most of the moonlight. The darkness also hid all the foulness of the trash, water, and dead rodents. Who knew what was living in the temped pools of sewage that oozed up through the cracks in the pavement? 

"Hey Yamato, should we really be doing this?" asked a gawky teenager in black jeans and a black t-shirt, his blonde hair reflected the moonlight in odd waves. "We won't get in trouble or anything, will we?"

Yama crept quietly along the path, moving from shadow to shadow. Dressed in all black with a black beanie pulled low over his hair, he'd blend perfectly in with the night, if it wasn't for his pale skin that glowed eerily. A brown rope was wrapped around his waist. "Of course we'll get in trouble if we're caught, but that's what makes it fun." 

"But will we go to jail?" the boy persisted, a slightly hysterical note appeared in is voice.

"Most likely," Yamato said absently, his mind was no longer on the boy but on the task at hand.

"I don't think I can go through with this," the boy muttered, he started back the way they came.

Yama didn't even notice him leaving, he pressed his ear against a dry spot on the slimy wall, trying to hear the telltale whine of a truck engine on the back street.

He heard a whine, then the thud of something being dropped on the ground, and another screech as the truck took off.

Yama jumped over the wall. Lying on the other side was a nondescript brown box. He quickly checked the contents of the box then tied one end of the rope around it and tossed the other over the wall for the guy to pull over.

~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Since you don't know the music I'll only have you play the beginning and closing songs." continued the priest unaffected by Yamato silence.

Yamato nodded and swept the last of the dirt out the door. He went back to the piano and grabbed his music.

~~~~~~~~~

  
_Yamato stood there for about thirty seconds when he realized the boy had bailed. Cursing his name Yama climbed back over the wall, and pulled the box over himself. The box was a little to heavy for him to lift so he dragged it along the ground to his van. _

Luckily the boy hadn't run far, he stood waiting beside the van, shuffling his feet. He rushed out to Yama and grabbed the box from him, carrying it the rest off the way to the van and depositing it in the back. Yama tossed a couple of blankets over it and shut the doors before climbing into the driver's side and starting it up. 

They drove for a few tense, silent moments before the boy cleared his throat, "How did the drop go?"

"You would know if you had been there." Yamato replied icily.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, "I was scared."

"That's ok."

"Really?" the boy turned to him shocked.

"Yep," Yama pulled into the driveway of an old mansion. He leaned over the boy and opened his door. "You can make it up by making the delivery.

The boy paled, "But I don't know the passwords or anything!"

"You'll do fine." Yama put on a pair of headphones to drown out the rest of the kids complaints.

Finally, the boy got out of the car and went to the back of the van, he grabbed the box and shut the doors slowly so as not to make to much noise. As he passed by the front of the van Yamato waved and gave him the thumbs up sign before losing himself in the music.

~~~~~~~~~

"Thanks for your help Yamato," The priest said closing the door behind Yamato as he left. 

Yamato began to walk home; the warm air and cool breeze put his mind at ease and lulled him back in time.

~~~~~~~~~

__

With his eyes closed and his ears filled with the sounds of Metallica, Yamato never saw the horrified and shocked look of the boy as he was pulled into the house by two burly guards; he never heard the boy's screams of pain as he was severely beaten. A while later one of the guards came and knocked on the driver side window of the van. Yamato rolled it down and held out his hand to accept his payment. Yama smiled as his hand closed on the crisp bills, Yamato nodded his thanks before starting up his engine and heading home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the bell tolls!! Hmmm... So whadda ya think!! Come, come! Don't be shy. Just click on the nice little box below and all your troubles will go away!


	2. Here Comes The Sun

Howdy Peeps!! *does the 'I've finally gotten off my lazy ass and typed the rest of the second chapter' dance*  Wah!  *Aren't you so proud of me!!  Now, if your trying to save time, skip to the second half and start reading, but otherwise I suggest you read the whole thing because I've corrected a lot of stupid errors and I've added a couple extra hints as to what the hell is going on.  Please review!! If it doesn't let you review again would you be ever so nice to email me or to sign out then review.  Domo Arigato!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here Comes the Sun

(Revised Version)

By Nakago

          It was a bright and sunny day outside of the gothic church.  Birds were chirping, the air was sweetly scented, and no clouds marred the blue expanse above.   It was almost like a dream.  Yamato walked through the park, eyes closed, drowning in the beauty about him.

          He was jarred out of his sweet reality when the noises of hard labor reached his ears.  He reluctantly stepped of the soft turf and onto the rough cement sidewalk.  His eyes searched the road for the source of the disturbance. _There. On the other side of the street a moving truck was parked in front of a large house.  People ran back and forth, like giant ants; carrying boxes and furniture to the house, and then scurrying back empty handed to start the whole process again. This demonstration of uniformity on such a relaxed and gorgeous day ruined the atmosphere that Yamato had been enjoying._

          Yamato shoved his hands deep into his pockets, hunching his shoulders as if to shield his self from such unity.  He shuffled down the street and around the corner, and down that street.  The last house on the left was the largest and the richest.  Yamato ducked his head, uncomfortable in the shadow of the mansion; he made his slow way up the driveway and to the front door.  After a moments searching he discovered his key in his back pocket. He slid the piece of metal into its partner and turned it, listening to the tumblers to fall in place.  He removed the key and opened the door just enough to slide his thin body in, closing it with a resounding thud that echoed in the big entryway.  Locking the door, he turned to begin his trek to discover his mother.

          He walked through about 3 sitting rooms, each patterned in the style of a different era, before he found his mothers hiding place.  She lay, reclined on a couch, in a white robe, black hair done up in a bun.  She chatted to one of her many acquaintances over the phoned, carrying on for quite longer than humanly possible about one color of nail polish.  Yamato stood in the doorway shifting from foot to foot as he waited for his mother to acknowledge his presence.

Eventually, the change of air pressure or something (might have been that there's only so much you can say about nail polish) caused her to look up and notice her son; She glared at him and quickly finished up her conversation before she hung up.

          "What are you doing," She snapped, "How dare you stand there and listen in to my conversations!" She rose from her couch as a serpent rises to attack.  She lifted one arched finger and pointed to the stairs behind her, "Go up to your room and _amuse yourself with your little crayons."_

          Yamato felt like he had been punched in his stomach.  He hadn't meant to be listening in to his mother's conversation, he had just wanted to tell her he was home, like he was supposed to.  He glued his eyes to his feet terribly confused.  _How can I get in trouble if I'm supposed to be doing this?  Why would I be interested in her talk about nail polish?  Just because I paint it doesn't mean I like nail polish.  I HATE it!  It smells so weird!  And it's not my fault!!_

          Yamato was tired of being docile and weak.  He wanted to be strong, like he used to be, when _he was still here.  Slowly he raised his eyes from his feet, his confidence rising with his eyes.  After years of eye and confidence rising he stood up tall and stared his mother straight in the eyes._

          She raised one eyebrow at her son's new stance.  "Yes?" She drawled."

Yamato gathered himself and opened his mouth to tell his mother off once in for all.  When all of the sudden the phone rang.  His mother glanced at the caller ID, then leaped at the phone with a call of joy, "Hey baby, " She squealed, " I didn't know that you'd be back in town his early.  Ohhh!!!  WOW, I'm coming over right now, k?  All right Sweetie, I'll see you in a moment."  She hanged up and jumped to her feet, she slipped off her white robe to revel a sleek black miniskirt and tank top.  She walked past Yamato and called over her shoulder, "Close your mouth.  You look even more like a fish when it's open."  With that she grabbed her keys and breezed into the garage to collect her car.

          Yamato closed his mouth with an audible snap.  All the confidence that he'd gathered drained out of him with his mother's carefree behavior.  Dejectedly he climbed the stairs to his room, he entered and snatched his lighter off his desk before he closed the door behind himself.  He lit the lighter and looked around his room, a low ceiling attic that spanned the entire top floor of the house.  The highest point was eight feet, and the lowest was six and a half, but that was ok.  He wasn't that tall, and it made it easier to paint.  And paint was what he did for most of the time he was in his room.  He painted his memories on the ceiling so he could stare up at them as he laid waiting for sleep to claim him.

          Yamato relit the lighter and walked around his room, lighting over a hundred candles.  Their soft glow turned the plain, black, windowless room into a warm hole, and gave the ceiling a life of it's own.  With a combination of smooth and rough strokes, Yama sketched the memories he had recalled in the church.  Though he remembered faces and images perfectly, he could never remember names.  There was only one name he still recalled, but he no longer had a use for it, for gone was the bearer.

          Yamato finished the rough sketch and went over to a bookshelf filled with different paints.  With the speed of much practice, he mixed the colors he needed in cups and placed them around the edges of his rolly platform.  He moved the platform into place and climbed upon it and lay down on his back.  He grabbed a brush, dipped it in flesh colored paint, and then he painted.

          The candles rarely flickered, giving of a pure, even light.  Yamato's world narrowed to his arms rise and fall and to the ceiling above him.  With smooth strokes, Yamato brought his past to life.  It picked him up and engulfed him, sinking into his every pore, ensuring that he'd always remember it.  His past held him for hours, 'till one too many candles burned out and cast his world into shadows.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

          Yamato slowly lowered his arm as he realized he could no longer see what he painted.  He could have continued.  The picture was burned into his mind; he could easily finish it in the dark.  But Yamato enjoyed watching what he painted go from globs of unconnected paint to beautiful pictures (you can tell he loved connect the dots when he was younger.) Also his arm had begun to protest violently at the thought of starting to paint again.  He chuckled weakly, and climbed stiffly of the scaffolding.  He removed his clothing, which magically didn't have any paint on them, put out the remaining candles, and slipped into bed.

          He rolled over to check his digital clock, which he usually kept covered so it wouldn't disturb him.  He removed the cloth and the numbers 3:17 blinked brightly at him.  He groaned and dropped the cloth, plunging the room back into complete darkness.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

          Applause filled the church as Yamato played the last measure of the opening song.

          The priest nodded sagely at him and began his sermon his soft droning voice that some how managed to fill the church.

          Yamato relaxed, stretching his fingers to make sure they didn't cramp.  Crossing his leg on the piano bench, Yama closed his eyes and listened to the sermon about remembering people you had met long ago.  Lights danced on the backs of his eyelids, making random patterns.  Slowly they began to form a picture of an old childhood friend of his.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_          The sun beat down on them from above.  Even the sky look faded compared to the suns brilliance.  The town was barren of life, as everything that could move had sought the shelter of air-conditioned homes in the heat of the day, except for to lone boys lying in the park.  Stretched out in the grass in the shade of a tree was a pale skinned boy, who amazingly was not burned yet, and his dark skinned friend who was tossing his soccer ball up and down._

_          "Come on Yama," begged the boy, catching his ball and turning on his side to face his friend, "You'll really like soccer, just give it a chance."  He surveyed his friend's body while he waited for an answer. Yama was dressed in black leather almost-booty shorts and a black tank top.  He personally thought that his friend was mad for wearing black all the time, and told him so quite often, but that never changed Yama's mind.  He on the other hand was wearing brown khaki shorts of a lightweight material and a blue shirt. _

_          Yama opened his eyes and gave his friend a death glare.  "It's the middle of the day, I'm not going to run around and work up a sweat just on the off chance that I might__ enjoy soccer." He pointedly ignored his friends pleading looks and closed his eyes _

_          After a little while the dark skinned boy, who had hair like a bush, stood up and started bouncing the soccer ball on his head.  After a few moments of doing that he started to sing._

_"I'm happy, feeling glad._

_I've got sunshine, in a bag._

_I'm useless, but not for long._

_The future is coming on."_

_          Yamato opened his eyes wide and stared at him in surprise for a long moment as the bush boy repeated the song.  _

_          "What the HELL," Yamato finally managed to gasp out between fits of laughter._

_          The brunette just smiled; he let the ball drop to the ground and started kicking it around while repeating the song over and over._

_          Yamato relaxed in the grass enjoying watching his friend have fun.  He was really enjoying himself with…_

~~~~~~~

          One of the doors of the church banged open, and everyone turned around in their seats to look.  In came an interesting looking family, well in Yamato's opinion interesting, to everyone else they looked quite normal; A middle aged mother and father, and two teenage kids.  The kids really got his attention though.  The girl was wearing a bright pink sleeveless shirt with white gloves that went up past her elbows, and white short shorts.  The girl was a little shorter than her brother, who appeared to be about Yamato's age.  The boy, who had hair like a brown bush, wore khaki shorts and a blue shirt, very similar to the boy in his memories.  Both of the kids seemed very familiar, the boy even more so than the girl.  And then it dawned on Yama who it was…

          "Taichi," Yama whispered, uncrossing his legs and partially rising from the bench.

          Taichi turned his head to stare at him as if he had heard Yama's faint whisper.  Something seemed to pass between them in that moment when their eyes met for the first time in over five years.  But before Yama could ID it the moment had passed and time continued.

          The new family filed in to the last row and sat down.  The priest cleared his throat and continued his interrupted sermon.  Yama sat back down and dragged his eyes away from his old friend and tried to turn his attention back to the pastor.

But his attention kept fluttering back to the boy in the last row.  What was he doing here?  Why was he back?  Yamato shook his head free of these thoughts long enough to play the last song, but then the boy was swirling through his mind, leaving behind a mess of emotions and thoughts.  He sat on the piano bench for a few minutes trying to collect the scattered bits of his mind when a tap on his shoulder spun him around.  There standing in front of him was his childhood friend, Taichi.

          "Pink."

          Yama tilted his head to the side, confused.

          "Your shirt, it's pink," Taichi said.

          Yamato looked at his attire, which was a washed-out pink shirt and white pants.  Yamato shrugged.

          Taichi just shook his head in mock pain, "Long time no see, huh." Taichi started twirling his soccer ball on his finger.

          "Yeah.  Long time…" Yamato trailed off.  Not quite sure what to say to his old friend.

          "Well it's good to see you doing alright," a new voice said, intruding into their conversation.

          Yama turned to look at Taichi's younger sister who stood with her hands on her hips.

          "Our parents are friends again."  She waved in the direction of their parents who were all chattering quite happily.

          Yamato's mother looked up from the gaggle and motioned him to come over.  The children wandered over to their parents, listening in with little interest.  Yamato's mother reached over and dropped her arm around Yamato's shoulders, pulling him to her side.

          "Yes," she said continuing her early conversation; "Yamato is now in the church choir and often plays the piano when the pianist is busy."

          "Oh, that's wonderful!" Taichi's mother said smiling at him.  "It's good to see that you've turned over a new leaf!" Yama smiled tentatively at her as she turned back to his mother.  "How about we send the kids off to play in the park as we get together over supper?"

          Yama's mother happily agreed, and the adults left, leaving the kids to make there way to the park.  Yamato seemed to brighten the second his mother was gone.  They got half way to the park, with Taichi playing with his ball and chatting about marshmallows, when Tai's sister turned and walked off without uttering a word.  

          Taichi shrugged at her odd behavior, "The accident affected her badly."

Yama nodded, though he wasn't quite sure what accident Tai meant. Yamato didn't mind, anyways, he wanted some to be alone with Taichi, to catch up.  

"So you moved to the city after the accident?" Yama asked as they continued their walk.

          Taichi shrugged, "It's pretty boring there." He dropped his soccer ball on the ground and began to kick it around.  He dribbled it for a bit as the walked along, then he kicked it to hard, on purpose, and had to give chase.

          Yamato smiled, this was one of the things he had missed the most about Taichi.  He loved his childlike innocence and constant happiness.  "Did you make any new friends," Yamato called after him.

          Taichi dribbled the ball a bit before answering, "Yeah, a couple.  They were mostly on my soccer team."

          "No friends from school?"

          "I don't socialize much." Taichi kicked the ball in the air and started bouncing it off parts of his body. 

          Taichi turned to Yamato, still keeping the ball in the air.  "Let's walk, I wanna hear about your life."  Taichi let the ball drop to the ground and started dribbling it towards a stand of trees in the middle of the park.

          Yamato quickly followed.  Propelled by his curiosity and a budding feeling in chest.

          "Come on."  He said, beckoning Yama.  Taichi politely held aside a branch so I could slip past.  It was a small entrance, and Yama's arm brushed against Taichi's, it went all tingly and Yama felt a little light headed.  _What's wrong with me, Yama thought, __Am I coming down with something?_

          It was very dim and quiet within the sparse forest, making it easy to forget the outside world, the world of pain and despair and heartache.

          "I like it in here," Yama murmered into the still air.  

          "Yeah, it's almost like we're in our own universe."

_          How close his thought mirrored mine, Yama thought with surprise.  He turned his head just in time to catch a glimmer Tai's smile.  He felt the blood rushing to the skin on his face.  "Um...  Tai, where are you taking me?"_

Tai's response was to reach back for Yama's hand and squeeze it.  "Come" he said simply.  

          They walked for a few more minutes, changing directions randomly until they wandered into a small clearing liberally strew with rocks.  Taichi sat down in front of a large boulder, shifting till his back was held by the rock instead of jabbed.  He extend his hand to Yamato and Yama hesitantly took it; sitting down on the ground, gingerly, for fear of retaliation.  They sat without moving, attuning themselves to each other in away that dated back to early childhood.  Their only parts touching were their hands, loosely clasped and lying lightly on the ground, between them.  The silence between them lengthened, not deepening, staying light.  After a few moments, almost on reflex, Taichi began to play with Yama's fingers.  

          Yama began to relax, the peaceful surroundings and the quiet air bent to woo him into semi consciousness.  And still, when a slight tickling feeling began in his chest, much unlike a cough, he stayed serene.  But abruptly, as he realized that this new sensation was caused in someway by Taichi, it changed from something to contemplate and puzzle to one to fear and ignore.  Taichi seemed to sense his internal conflict and stopped his playing just as Yama jerked his hand away.

          "I'm sorry," Yama murmured, pulling his knees to his chest and wrapping his arm around them.

          "No, my fault." Taichi said leaning back, resting his head on a little stone ledge, and folding his hands on his lap.

          There was silence again.  Not the comfortable, warm silence of before but a tense brittle thing that could snap at a moments notice.  But Taichi quickly ended the silence before it got that point.

          "So…" He trailed off, normal Taichi articulacy at work.  "What have you been doing?"

          Yama was sort of startled by the comment, he wasn't expecting it, no one ever asks him how he's doing, the always ask his mom.  There for his answer was the complete truth.

          "Oh…  Um…  Painting."

          "Really!"  Asked Taichi, his interest seemed to be caught.

          "Um, yah."

          "That's great!  What do you paint?  Still life?  Scenery?"

          Once again Yama was caught off guard, "Yesterday."

          "Yesterday?  How can you paint yesterday?" asked Taichi, completely baffled.

          "You can't, well, not easily.  What I meant to say was the past."  Yama answered, smiling at Tai's child like confusion.

          "Oh, ok."  Taichi said, happy again, "Can I see them sometime?"

          Again, with the taking off guard, never before had any one asked to see his pictures.  He really wanted to say no, fearing what Taichi would think of them but looking at Taichi with his wide hopeful eyes (that very much reminded him of a puppy dog), there was only one way he could reply…

          "Yes."

          Taichi face broke out into a broad grin, immediately quelling any of Yama's doubts.

          Suddenly, Tai's attention was distracted and he looked up at the trees covering them, peering intently before looking back down at his watch.  Still smiling he stood and offered his hand to Yama.  Yama tilted his hand and stared at the hand for a moment.

          "Come on Yama," Tai said grinning roguishly, " I won't bite."

          Yama blushed a bit at that, but quickly reached up and grasped Taichi's hand anyway.  Taichi quickly pulled him to his feet with one smooth movement, and continued to hold his hand as he pulled Yama along behind him.

          "Um…  Where are we going?"  Yama asked for the second time that day, stumbling a bit on the hidden snares of tree roots and rocks.

          "Your house," Taichi replied matter-of-factly, "your moms gonna start to worry if you don't get home soon.

          "Oh."

They broke out of the mini forest on the street side, and broke into a slow trot across the street.  The walked slowly down the street in the fading twilight.  The soft indecisive colors soon gave way to night, and a brilliant fool moon climbed swiftly into the sky.  Right as the moon reached it's pinnacle the arrived at their destination; Yama's front steps.  Doused in ethereal beauty, Taichi and Yama stood staring at each other on the doorsteps to the mansion.  The moon was working it's magic on them, with all its power.

          Finally Taichi sighed, breaking the stillness of the night.  "I must go." He whispered.  He squeezed Yama's hand, then reluctantly let it go as turned to leave.  He got down three whole steps before he flung himself back around and ran back up to Taichi's side.  Time stopped and watched with interest as Taichi once again engulfed a pale hand with his tan one.  Taichi jerked his hand slightly and Yamato moved one hesitant step forward, the feelings in the air goading him on.  Taichi leaned forward, bridging the gap between them in one unending moment, which ended as he planted a soft kiss upon Yama's cheek.

          Taichi let go of Yama's hand and with a farewell smile, he ran down the steps and into the darkness that engulfed him like he never existed.

          Yama stood on the steps stunned.  Slowly his hand went to his cheek, and a smile split his lips.  Yamato turned and entered his house, closing the door behind him, softly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That is the longest chapter I have every written, but next chapter will be even longer (I think).  So please review, and if you want me to email you when the next chapter is up, leave you address.  K? K!!!


	3. A Shot of Rhythm and Blues

A/N: If this chapter would be dedicated to anyone it would have to be ClearSkies, for being a bitch and bugging me to finish this.

Disclaimer(s): I have never owned digimon though I am thinking of kidnapping the owners of it and asking for the first two seasons rights as the ransom. Now, onto the story :)

**Chapter 3: A Shot of Rhythm and Blues**

The next morning dawned bright and beautiful, but Yama was not privy to this fact. He tossed fitfully in his sleep, his mind caught up in a nightmare he couldn't escape.

The brilliant sun shined down upon a large meadow in the forest, bathing every leaf and petal in an otherworldly light. Yamato stood in the middle of the field blinded by the sun's rays. He shaded his eyes with his hand, squinting a bit as he peered around in search of some shade; he couldn't get sunburned, it would ruin his complexion.

Suddenly a small boy with a giant fishing net appeared in front of him. With an exclamation of annoyance Yama jumped back, and raised his other arm to ward of the approaching opening of the net. He growled at the little boy, "What the hell do you think you're doing!"

The boy just smiled as he quickly pulled the net away from him. "Sorry Yama, I thought you were a butterfly for a moment." The boy quickly ran off, giant net in the air as he chased his imaginary butterflies.

Yamato shook his head marveling at the stupidity of children before he turned and headed towards the woods. He began to walk, peering at the ground to relieve his sun blinded eyes. After about five minutes he figured he should be getting close to the woods so he lifted his eyes to the horizon and was shocked to find that the trees were still at the same distance they had been from him. "What..." His voice trailed off as he turned around and saw that the little boy had left off his pursuit of butterflies to purse Yama instead.

"Come play with me," His smile broadened and he repeated his request, "Come play with me."

"B-but... who are you?" stammered Yama, terribly confused.

The boy just smiled brighter, "Oh, Yama." He giggled and grabbed Yama's hand in an iron grip. He pulled hard, dragging Yamato behind him as he walked through the fields of flowers.

Tripping and stumbling, Yama was pulled along in the wake of the formidable child. As time increased he began to feel sharp pains in his thighs every time he stepped forward. Looking down he realized that the once flexible flowers that had flowed like a calm ocean day had now become hard and unyielding they slapped against his shins. Drawing blood to the surface and creating horrible bruises that screamed in agony every time the skin shifted over them. As he looked up he realized that they were no longer in the meadow but in a forest. As he stared in amazement the trees that grew along the side of the path-the flowers had shrunk to mere ankle height and were leaving him more or less alone-began to morph. Slowly the browns and green colors of healthy trees bled away leaving a lifeless gray hulk, and then the trees expanded spreading out and melding together till they formed a solid concrete looking wall on both sides of the path. Effectively trapping Yama on the path, nowhere to go but forward (which wasn't an option) or back.

Then, the screaming began. At first it was more of a grunting sound, like someone was hitting a sack of dirt over and over, but slowly it began to escalate to moans and then to a full out scream that tied knots in your gut one moment and raised the hair on your arms the next.

The child stopped to listen, cocking his head to the side. A sad, sad smile spread over his lips. He turned back to Yamato, peering into his eyes as if he was searching, searching for some answer. The screaming stopped.

The boy's head jerked up; there was a fevered expression in his eyes as he tugged on Yamato's arm. "Come on Yama!! Come on! You need to see the finale. You need to watch the ending this time!"

"NO!!!" Yamato struggled with all his might. He mustn't see it! He Mustn't See!!!

But the kid was finished with being nice. Without warning he yanked on Yamato's arm pulling him off his feet. He dragged Yama behind him, moving faster and faster in a frenzy to reach his goal.

Then, when all Yama could do was dangly limply like a discarded rag doll he stopped moving. He looked up, and before him stood Taichi, holding on to the hand that held Yama's wrist, keeping the boy from continuing to move forward.

The boy glared at Tai, his face contorted in a mask of rage. "He's mine," the boy shouted, "I lost him once before but I'll keep him this time!!!"

Tai just gave the boy a sympathetic smile and said, "No." He plied the boy's fingers off Yama's wrist and coaxingly drew him to his feet.

As if the boys grasp on Yamato's wrist was the only thing that held this world of unliving concrete together, the world dissolved around Yama and Tai, leaving them standing alone in a gray flecked darkness.

Grinning, Tai began to brush off the dust on Yama's shirt. "You're dirty."

Yama glared and gave him a sarcastic reply. "Oh no, how did that happen? After all I was only being dragged down a dirt path by a raging manic for half a mile."

"You always had a flare for the dramatics, Yama."

Yama glared at the back of Tai's head, amusing himself with images of bashing him over the head with a soccer ball. Once he was no longer annoyed at his friend he started looking around him, "Umm Tai?"

"Yes?" Tai said while standing up, leaving a nearly-dust-free Yama before him.

Yama gestured vaguely around them. "Where are we?"

"Uh, it looks like inside your head."

Yama raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"Though, you'd think it be a bit more original considering that you're an artist and all." Tai turned his back on Yama and wondered around the 'room'. "Very spacious."

Yama put his hands on his hips and tapped his foot a bit impatiently as Tai continued to poke and prod the walls around them. "Well, how are we supposed to get out of here?"

"Mine has one of those cool pole things that the firemen slide down." Tai looked around, "I don't think yours has one of those."

Yama growled at him, holding his hands up in claws and made as if to scratch him.

"Whoa, whoa," Tai jumped back and held up his hands to ward him away. "Hold it tiger, there's other ways."

"Like what?"

Tai got that infuriating grin on his face again, the one that said he was going to show you something that you didn't necessarily want to know. He slowly paced across the floor to Yama. He stopped a mere half a foot away and leaned into him and placed a soft kiss on Yama's lips.

Yama was shocked. He almost jumped back and pushed Tai away, but stopped; the kiss wasn't _unpleasant_. Surprise more than anything else had made it uncomfortable in the beginning. Slowly he closed his eyes and just savored the moment.

As his chest grew tight from lack of oxygen Yama pulled back from Tai and suddenly found himself in a horizontal position. Opening his eyes all he could see was his ceiling above him. He sat up with a start, looking about wildly. There was no Tai anywhere!

Groaning he fell back on his pillow. It's bad enough that he kissed a guy, but for it to be his best friend _and _a figment of his own imagination was too much. He pulled the blankets back over his head and burrowed into their warmth, escaping back into the oblivion of sleep; hopefully this time it would be _without _dreams.

Crash! The door leaped open, smashing into the wall with a resounding boom of thunder, and startling the sleeping Yama.

Jerking upright, Yama looked around wildly for the source of such a disturbance. Glancing about he found his mother lounging in the door.

"Good, you're up." Turning from the door she started back down the hallway, leaving Yama to get dressed on his own.

Once his sleep-fogged brain had managed to interpret her terse statement, he sighed in annoyance. His mother_ knew _that he didn't sleep with anything clothing on, why couldn't she just close the door and save him a bit of embarrassment. _No, she couldn't do that; she'd lose control over me if she started being nice. _He frowned, puzzled by that last thought. Shrugging he stood, holding his pillow in front of him as a precaution. He quickly crab walked to the door and shut it before turning to his closet to decided on today's ensemble.

He glanced over the hanging clothing in the front. Nothing special, just a couple pairs of faded jeans and equally faded T-shirts. He frowned; he wanted something a bit more interesting to wear if he was going to be hanging out with Tai all day. Kneeling on the floor he set the pillow down beside him and began to dig through all the boxes hidden in there. Coming to some of the back boxes he started to find bits and pieces of his old wardrobe. After another ten minutes of searching he started to get dressed. Black silk boxers, tight black jeans, white tank top, and black vest. He peered down at himself and smiled.

He left his room and made a sharp left into the bathroom. He brushed his teeth and combed his hair running a bit of gel through it with his fingers (it tended to get a bit fly away towards the end of the day if he didn't.) With that done he practically skipped down the steps to get some breakfast.

Humming to himself, he slipped into his seat at the opposite end of the table from his mother. One of the ever-changing maids laid a plate and a glass of orange juice in front of him. Smiling at her, he declined the eggs but accepted some toast and oatmeal.

His mother abruptly stood up and walked around the table. Standing beside his chair she gripped his chin in her hand and turned his face up so she could look at him. Frowning she looked down at his clothing. "What's gotten in to you?" she asked, letting go of him and returning to her seat.

"Not much. I'm going to go hang out with an old friend of mine." Yamato dug in to his food, scooping up some oatmeal with his spoon, and then pilling it neatly on the toast before tasking a bite.

"Oh," She raised an eyebrow, "And, where has this 'old friend' been in the past couple years that I have seen neither hide nor hair of him?"

"His family moved to the city five years ago, and they moved back yesterday."

"And," she drawled languidly, "Does this 'old friend' have a name perchance?"

Yamato nodded hastily, refusing to let his mother's tone get him down. Gobbling down the last bit of toast and oatmeal, he chewed furiously before draining the last of his orange juice. Setting his glass down he caught a glimpse of his mother's face twisted into a mask of impatience. He quickly headed towards the door before she could stop him.

Opening the door, he exited the house and called back over his shoulder, "I'm going out with Tai, Mom. Be back before midnight!"

Shutting the door, he turned and was about to make a dash for the street, when a vision of chocolate colored skin appeared in his peripheral vision right before he smacked into it.

Down they fell; a laughing mess of bodies, trapped and trapping each other.

"Don't you ever watch wear you're going?" Tai asked, untangling his arm from Yama's vest so he could rise up on one elbow. "I believe this is the second time a meeting like this has occurred?"

A dim flash of a previous encounter with Tai flickered through Yama's mind.

_"What are you going to do with your life?!" His mother screamed for the umpteenth time._

"_Become an extremely wealthy drug lord with an empire that spans the globe." Yamato responded sarcastically. He was coming top the ends of his patience with his mother and her constant nagging._

"_Your brother always knew-" She rose to her feet, screaming._

"_No!! You are not going to bring him into this conversation!" Yamato jumped up and gave his mother the full power of his glare._

"_He at least knew how to respect his betters!" She screamed at him and whirled away; storming off in a wave of fury._

_Yamato stood glaring at her retreating back. He spun around and stalked to the front door. Flinging it open, he jumped out into the light. He stood in the sun, trying to ignore all the hurtful things his mother had been saying all morning. In a last ditch maneuver to release his anger he slammed the door shut and turned around and began to run for the street, but before he could run a single step he crashed right into the bronzed chest of his best friend, effectively sending them to a painful meeting with the driveway._

"_Oh," said Tai, when he got his breath back, "I guess you just now remembered our date to play soccer."_

_Yama groaned, raising his aching head a few inches off the ground to glare at Tai, "Not now, Just, not now." He lowered his head back to the ground and closed his eyes. _

Sitting up with a groan for his sore rear, Yama smiled at Tai who had already gotten up and collected his ever-present soccer ball. He stood, dusting of his pants and vest.

"So, what are you doing here?" he asked Tai.

Tai grinned, tossing the ball up into the air and bouncing it on his head once before answering, "I got bored and decided I'd come visit you." Tai looked him up then down, "Nice outfit, much better than pink."

"Oh thank goodness," Yama sarcastically replied in an "oh too sweet" voice, "I feared that if you did not like it I would be damaged beyond repair."

Tai smiled, and head butted his bouncing ball at Yama. The ball hit Yama's cheek with a loud smack and fell leadenly to the ground.

Yama just stood there, hand clasped to his smarting check, eyes unfocused.

"Ummm Yama..."Tai began, but stopped as Yama raised icy eyes to stare at Tai.

His eyes filled with a fire that burned the pain from his body; with an evil smirk he bent over and picked up the ball. His short nailed fingers plucked at the air plug on the side of the ball. Pulling it free, he applied pressure to both sides of the ball, watching Tai's face sadden as the air blew out with a whistle. Yama tossed the ball over his shoulder, and before Tai could do more than take a quick step towards his deflated friend, Yama tackled him to the ground.

A wrestling match ensued; neither boy gaining the upper hand for long as they rolled back and forth on the front lawn. Finally, Tai dominated. His slightly heavier body, due to years of soccer, allowed him to pin Yama to the ground and effectively end the match with him victorious.

"That was mean Yama," Tai said, though he was grinning like an idiot.

Yama shrugged, well, tried to shrug but since his arms were pinned above his head it didn't quite come out like a shrug is supposed to. However it did loosen Tai's grip on his arms. Yama gave Tai a sweet smile, right before flipping him over.

"So," drawled Yama, shifting a bit as the squirming boy beneath him tried to escape. "Who's—"

"Yama!!" A sharp screech sliced through the air like an arrow through an apple. "What are you doing on the ground?!"

Yama bolted to his feet and saw his mother primly dressed, standing beside her car, looking at him in complete disgust.

"Uh. Let me explain..." He quickly started brushing tiny bits of dirt and grass off his clothing.

The lady just shook her head in disgust. She unlocked her car with a beep and set her briefcase down on the passenger seat. Closing the door, she stalked around the car, her stiletto heels making sharp clicks every time they came into contact with the pavement.

"Uh, I'm sorry." Yama said weakly as she opened the driver door.

She sighed, the pathetic waver in his voice having caught her maternal instincts, "It's alright, just behave from now on." She quickly got in her car and drove away, off to whatever job she had sold her life to.

"Why'd ya let her do that?" Tai asked, still stretched out full length on the ground.

"Huh?" Yama replied inarticulately.

"Why'd you let all over you like that?"

"I-I don't know. Habit, I guess."

"Well break it." Tai said testily. He quickly stood up and retrieved his ball before staring Yama straight in the eye. "Two people are needed to make someone feel worthless; one person to do the degrading and another to lie down and take it."

Yama raised an eyebrow. "I know you aren't clever enough to come up with that on the spur of the moment."

Tai grinned, relaxing back into his normal casual attitude, "You're right, I read it in a book."

"Gasp!" Yama clutched his chest in mock surprise, "Tai reading! This _must _be the first sign of the apocalypse."

Tai shoved him good-naturedly on the shoulder and started walking off into the street.

"So where do you want to go?" asked Yama, shoving his hands into his pockets as he caught up with Tai.

"I don't know. Where do you want to go?" Tai replied with a mischievous grin.

"Now don't start that again." Yama said giving Tai the response that he wanted.

Tai laughed. "I love it when you play along." He swung his arm around Yama's shoulder and led him off to the park.


End file.
